Comments on: At Top City Schools, Lack of Diversity Persistshttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/
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By: Try this nowhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-891709
Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:20:49 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-891709Hello; Very valuable thing in this post! Its the little things that will make the biggest difference. Thanks so much fo this!
]]>By: sharonhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-891481
Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:08:50 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-891481i got accepted into it and my junior high school was one of the best and had all asians in it too. Like 99% of Asians went to test prep to get into Stuy and its kind of sad.
]]>By: romehttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-891423
Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:19:29 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-891423how is it that the specialized high school institute desgined purely to help out minority students who cannot afford expensive test prep centers is not able to assure selected students of automatic entrance into one of the specialized high schools? why? because the selected students may not have been the best students in the first place. selection is by lottery, and there is no background check on whether the student is a good student or not. this means that any student whether he or she does well or not is a potential candidate to the specialized high school institute. getting a high score on the test is the easiest thing to do in the world. the problem is when the student gets in and because he or she does not have good study and work habits, he/she does not make it through the four years at that specialized high school.
]]>By: kristinhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-890865
Tue, 03 May 2011 16:31:24 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-890865So what if the test is just an indicator of who best prepares for the exam? Isn’t the ability to learn specific material also a signifier of intelligence? The fact is, whoever wants to study for these tests can get in. And if you study and still can’t, it means that maybe you don’t have the innate ability to attend that kind of school.
Furthermore, this article is highly misleading – starting out by mentioning low numbers of black and Hispanic students then stating that the schools lack “racial diversity” neglects to take into account the fact that, as is later mentioned, over 50% are of Asian decent (and I believe that includes Indians), which, last I checked, is still considered a minority. So if the majority of students are a somewhat equal blend of white, East Asian, and Indian, you can hardly call that not “racially diverse.” Or is it that only Hispanics and blacks count as minority these days?
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Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:25:49 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-890691Airborne debris as well as other dried up things over the rug are usually easily taken out and you’ll definitely not need the aid of a expert tidier, however consider again. Bacteria can certainly acquire below this rug as a consequence of moist and retained debris. Molds may grow within the square area rug which could furthermore result in germs.
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]]>By: Ninahttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-871187
Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:52:32 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-871187I’m a half black, half Puerto Rican senior at Bronx Science. I taught test prep last summer. To everyone saying that the test is rigged in favor of White/Asian kids, I’m thinking that you either haven’t seen legitimate SHSAT questions or that you’re insanely biased.

On the opposite end of the “THE SHSAT IS RACIST” spectrum, comment 129 made me laugh really hard. Either that person was just trolling or they’re in a dire need of a lobotomy.

No, the specialized high schools aren’t indicative of the city’s population, but people going on about the “lack of diversity” really need to stop talking. When I walk the hallways of Bronx Science, I see people of varying backgrounds (Korean, Bengali, West-Indian, Peruvian, Polish, Italian, Filipino, and Dominican, just to name a few) all of whom “earned” a seat in the school they attend.

That said, another commenter raised an excellent point. Rather than whining about the racial breakdown of specialized high schools, how about NYC education officials focus on improving the conditions in the other schools across the city? Is it just the well-known high schools with good names that are worthy of attention?

]]>By: Challengerhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-785661
Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:07:37 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-785661If one cannot properly prepare for this test how can he/she survive four years of extremely difficult academic years. Many bright students of all races do not get in. Everyone who is a serious student knows what the test is all about. Some say that the test does not reflect how good a student is or can be. This may be true… but is the LSAT or the MCAT any better at testing whether you would be a better lawyer or doctor I think not. It is at the very least a fair test. “Those that score highest gets in. Not a we need a certain percentage of a certain color student to fill a quota deal” Certain groups embrace a culture of education and hard work more than others. Why can’t we just admit this?
]]>By: Xiaohttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-753853
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:33:37 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-753853Hello, I am a 14 year old black female. Throughout my life my parents have stressed the importance of achieving a good education. I was taught to read at the age of 3, and I now have reached the reading level beyond that of 12 graders. In middle school I did not receive adequate preparation for taking the Specialized High School test. By taking test prep my parents and I hoped I would make it into Brooklyn Tech or Stuyvesant. I don’t believe the months of test prep prepared me at all of the horrors of the SHSAT,sadly I was not accepted.I believe that students should be let into the school based off past years of grades and behavior, not a 2 and half our test.
What can a school really learn about you from a test, they cant learn about your reading level, personality, how you react to constructive criticism, etc. I don’t believe the test is culturally biased, but i do believe that schools should focus on preparing students much earlier than the very year of the test especially in areas of New York that have lower test rated and lower incomes. Income believe it or not is a key point in getting test prep. For the other people that are writing comments please don’t make generalizations there are different types of people in every race and you cant say that all Hispanics and Black don’t value education or that all Asians are smart or value education more than others.

Thank you signed,
a now 9th grade girl

]]>By: Jackie Mhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-740037
Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:30:01 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-740037Stuyvesant is 2/3s minority. It is definitely one of the most diverse high schools in the nation, even if just counting race.

Wait, are Asians no longer minority any more?

]]>By: Paulhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-725717
Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:55:44 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-725717Stuyvesant grad, early 70s. At that time, most SHS students were white, although there certainly were some blacks and Asians. Very few came from families of means. Neither I nor anyone I knew took a prep class or prepared for the exam in any way. Then, as apparently now, it was a school populated by kids who valued learning and academic achievement, most because their parents did. Many came from first or second generation immigrant families. The academic atmosphere was intensely competitive, but I never noticed anyone complaining about that, since that was the nature of the school; if you didn’t want that environment you could always go to your local school. You could leave at any time. If you hadn’t had the ability and motivation by then to study hard and take tests and do well as measured by traditional standards you’d get lousy grades, and of course some people, of all ethnicities, did, which no doubt did little for their future academic careers. There were no remedial classes; you could get that at your local school, and save yourself the three hours per day subway commute I had for three years.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind having made a few million a year playing basketball. I wasn’t born uncoordinated, and in fact was a decent athlete as a kid. If I’d had an athletic mentor, or just practiced three or four hours every day instead of all that studying and reading and handing in my homework on time, I might now be wealthy and famous and long since retired. Should I resent it that no one came to me in grade school and told me I had a future as an athlete and cultivated my abilities and sent me to a middle school and high school with a good athletic department and told me to pick up that basketball and hit the courts or some day I’d be working some 9 to 5 desk job and earning a modest salary? Whose fault was it that I never made it to the NBA?

]]>By: jimhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-722442
Tue, 03 Aug 2010 03:12:09 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-722442I am a senior at stuyvesant. I am asian and I worked hard to get in yada yada yada. The test is STANDARDIZED. It is OBJECTIVE and FAIR. Let’s face it- many black and hispanic students in new york don’t care about education. They care about hanging out, buying expensive sneakers, acting tough, etc. Most of the time, asian and white families push their children to achieve and they expect academic success. They have their priorities straight. Of course I know that there are exceptions but this is the case.
]]>By: Michaelhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-721948
Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:20:47 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-721948I speak as graduate of Brooklyn Tech. I am a proud member of the Class of 1981.

The test is not inadequate. It must be prepared for at the Middle School level. Perhaps in certain neighborhoods potential students are discouraged from going and not given the support required to do well. That is not a reason to change the current admission standards.

My personal experience is this: When I was in JHS and my fellow classmates and I expressed a desire to go to BX HS of Sci, Stuvesant, and Brooklyn Tech. At that point our parents made sure the administration of IS 320 (aka Jackie Robinson JHS in Crown Heights) provided us with extra tutoring and test preparation. Many teachers stayed late and volunteered to help us. Most of the students who stayed after school for extra tutoring passed with no trouble. For that I am grateful to them.

Once at Tech, I have never had my qualifications questioned in regards to my ‘belonging’ because everyone had to pass the same test with no ‘fudge’ factor to admit minorities.

To trot out numbers and blame the test is a specious argument with no evidence. Some standards need not be changed to accommodate the failures of some – but rather some need to change in order to accommodate the standards of excellence.

And excellence is what these schools represent.

I think I speak for many of my fellow ‘minority’ BTHS alumni when I say: Leave the admission standards are they are.

]]>By: john wonghttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-654637
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:52:20 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-654637Comment # 21 was interesting because it reminded me of my situation when I went to Brooklyn Tech.
I managed to make the cutoff score to get into Bklyn Tech. (barely). Going to school at Brooklyn Tech was like an average runner attempting to run the marathon for the first time. However, I never gave up due to stupidity. I couldn’t go anywhere else if I failed. I ended up going to classes everyday anyway. I also credit passing the SHSAT and Brooklyn Tech with my solid foundation in English and Math prior to attending high school.
]]>By: Jacobhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/comment-page-4/#comment-647461
Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:07:43 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/#comment-647461There appears to be a hypothesis:
Asian Americans tend to score well on standardized exams because Asian American families place a higher emphasis on education.

(See e.g. comments 127, 130, 132)

You would THINK the proper response is to now test this hypothesis. Develop objective standards for determining emphasis on education, ranging from the amount of time a parent spends on a kid’s homework, what % of income is spent on supplementary educational studies, how informed parents are concerning their children’s education, etc.

If they hypothesis turns out to be legitimate: i.e. parents of Asian background generally place higher emphasis on education than parents of equal socio-economic status but of a different ethnicity/national origin … then maybe the issue is NOT the “test” or “public funding” on education, but instead a cultural issue. In fact, if the hypothesis turns out to be legitimate, continued opposition to realizing its legitimacy will continue to function as obstacles towards making progress on this, as everyone agrees, very important and clearly inflammatory issue.

All this depends of course on whether or not this hypothesis is borne out by the evidence.

But as an Asian American, who attended Stuyvesant, it is my personal belief based on the sum of my experiences that the single most important factor to performance is the culture and family, and the priority the family places on education.